NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell wants to explore the idea of expanding the current 16 game regular season to 17 or 18 games possibly as early as the 2010 season. The current preseason consists of teams playing 4 to 5 basically meaningless games that only the most fanatical of fans has any interest in. The new plan would eliminate 1 or 2 of these games and add them to the regular season.
Before any talk of expanding the regular season, the league needs to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union which is slated to expire after the 2010 season. Any changes would have to be a part of a new agreement so it remains to be seen how quickly they can get something done.
As for the owners, a longer season would mean additional revenue from their advertising partners so there should be little resistance from that end. For season ticket holders who currently have to buy tickets to all the preseason games as part of the ticket package, trading these for extra regular season games would be a no brainer. For the regular fan, who wouldn’t want a longer football season?
The main problem with expanding the regular season would be the risk of increased injuries to players. The league can change all the rules they want to try and reduce the number of serious injuries, but playing more games means more chances for someone to get hurt. I am sure this issue will be addressed by the players’ union during any upcoming negotiations with the league owners. One possible idea would be to expand a team’s roster from its current 53 to possibly 60-65 players to allow for more player rotation, helping to cut down on some wear and tear a longer season would bring. There are also some scheduling issues that need to be worked through, but these do not seem to present a major problem to extending the season.
Hopefully all sides involved can come together to get this thing done as everyone agrees the current preseason is too long and does nothing to build fan interest.
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